Lana in Scarborough

Groupon had refunded our payment at the same time the service provider called to say he was coming and I had not told my husband this until he called to say Vlad was on his way. The bottom line is that we had to chase him because he was did not show up / call and was not returning our calls despite saying he would. The only thing that is unfortunate about HomeStar reviews is the nasty voice mails/phone calls from service providers who are held accountable for poor service. June 29 Update: Service provider came today and did a good job cleaning the windows and eaves (we have bay windows at the back of the house and each pane section is counted as 1 window so consider this when ordering window cleaning). Groupon had refunded the amount paid but they price was honoured and we paid same amount. Thanks to Homestars for this service and opportunity to provide feedback. June 24: Bought a coupon from Groupon & was able to make an appt for 3 weeks after booking. The appt. time was between 11am and 1pm. They did not show so my husband called & was advised he was running late but would be there by 3pm. At 3pm my husband called again and was told he was on his way. At 4pm my husband received a call that he had an accident on the highway & would call back that night to reschedule. We have been trying to reach him for 3 days to reschedule but no messages we have left have been returned. I assume he is okay as he called after the accident to say he would call to reschedule that evening. However we have not had the courtesy of a call to reschedule the service which has already been paid for! Just fyi, Groupon has advised they are also trying to reach him and if unable would refund us in 'Groupon Buck' -- uh, no thanks, we paid for a service in cash and expect a cash refund for services not received.

My husband and I were skeptical about duct cleaning due to a recent TV expose so entered this process reluctantly. We found The Duct Cleaning Specialists very professional from the initial phone call with Paul to the actual service provided by Mark and Marlon. They provide before and after pictures, explain the entire process thoroughly, are clean and respective of your home, very polite and Mark even asked us at the end of the cleaning if we had any suggestions on how their service could be improved (my husband and I have never been asked this before by any service provider -- an d have had a large number of them over the past couple of years). We would highly recommend this company (if you've read my other reviews you know I don't give recommendations frivolously). We were very impressed by Mark's knowledge, polite/professional manner and the pride he obviously takes in the service he provides. Great Job -- Thank you!

While Northland may be good at paving, I would suggest you may wish to consider another supplier for interlocking. We had our driveway and front patio regraded and new interlocking done almost 4 years ago. Why did it take so long to write a review?? Partly 'who likes to be a complainer and write negative comments and partly because of a visit the salesman made to our home a few weeks ago when we happened to be home and he was showing our driveway off as one of their success stories (he did not bring them up to the top of the driveway where it is heaving). We had previously expressed our displeasure with the final grading and ponding at the bottom of the driveway however this was met with a response of 'nothing we can do'. Now, the interlocking is already heaving in some areas and since the salesman was there to 'show off' our driveway, we took the opportunity to advise him of the disappointment that the interlocking is already heaving. He pointed out it was a very hard winter but added "this is a quick fix" and "I'll speak to the owner and see what we can do. It would be a shame to lose this as a showcase property". That was over 3 weeks ago and we have not heard a word from Northland despite the fact they are in the neighbourhood doing the driveway across the street (asphalt). Hence the review now and I sincerely apologize to anyone who has had the same difficulties we had during the job for not writing this sooner. Some highlights of the actual work experience by Northland: * our contract called for a minimum base of 8-10 inches. After they had done the excavating and regrading they left the driveway advising it had to settle before they could put on the limestone. When they left, we dug pilot holes and checked the grading...the largest base in any one area was 4 inches and the grading was already at the final grade (thus no room for limestone). We called Northland, pointed out the lack of compliance to the contract and they sent back to their crew to do it all over again. * Given the need to have a watchful eye, I took a day off to be home when they were scheduled to come back for the next stage. No phone call and no show. They did come the next day. * Upon returning home from work, I questioned the foreman about the accent brick they were putting down. He advised me it was the accent brick we had chosen. As he was not willing to listen to our insistence that it was not, we got the very detailed contract and pointed to the name/number of brick on the skids which was clearly not the accent brick we had chosen and paid for. It turns out they didn't have any in stock and were trying to pass this brick off as a substitute. Not a viable option for us so they removed the 'substitutes' and purchased the ones we had contracted for. These are just a couple highlights of our experience with Northland. This latest suggestion of fixing the heaving and not following through was the final slap in the face and what prompted this review (albeit late). Despite a hard winter, we do not believe that the interlocking should be heaving AND we believe if a contractor is going to make a suggestion that he will 'see what we can do', he should get back to the customer to explain options and make it right (especially since they are doing another job right across the street). The lack of commitment to doing what they say they will do without being chased/checked up on is why I would not recommend this company to my friend or family. If you are going to use them, I would strongly suggest a VERY detailed contract and a project manager to keep them to their word. August 2014 update: the day after posting this review, I received a call from one of the staff at Northland who was quite upset by the review and I received a stern lecture and several excuses for the items listed above. She advised the owner would come out and see us the following Monday. Sept. 2014 Update: Northland Paving has advised us that the ground in the Bluffs area is clay which makes interlocking brick very challenging. That, combined with the terrible winter accounts for the heaving. Additionally we were advised was that, with interlocking, you need to repair some of the polymeric sand every year and it wasn't possible to do more grading than what we ended with. All of which would have been nice to know IN ADVANCE of the decision to have interlocking versus paving. So, to reiterate my original point, suggest paving versus interlocking and ensure you have a well detailed contract, a project manager if you aren't able to be there when the job is being done and don't forget to check the base before continuing to paving or interlocking to ensure it meets what is required. Now, does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable supplier who can fix our heaving?

We interviewed 4 different suppliers and selected Infinity mostly because the salesman was very good and responsive. At the beginning of April we had our new high efficiency furnace installed. Unfortunately the Mechanical filter box was not properly installed and allows unfiltered air in a gap which would possible damage the furnace. We have spent 3 months trying to get them to come back to fix this issue. This is the 'busy' aircon season. the manager came out to our home today to give his word in person that they will fix the installation defect..... August 2010 -- They finally came back and fixed the installation deficiency. While we are thrilled it is better than before, it is not perfect and the ongoing chasing we had to do for over 3 months has left a sour taste in our mouths for this company. Suggest everyone learn a lesson and thoroughly inspect a job when they say they are done to ensure it is done correctly before paying.